Prevention

Mission Statement

The Prevention Section is a section of the Society of Counseling Psychology, Division 17 of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the section is to further theory, research, training, practice, advocacy, and policy initiatives in prevention among counseling psychologists.

Prevention includes (a) stopping a problem behavior from ever occurring; (b) delaying the onset of a problem behavior; (c) reducing the impact of a problem behavior; (d) strengthening knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that promote emotional and physical well-being; and (e) promoting institutional, community, and government policies that further physical, social, and emotional well- being (Romano & Hage, 2000).

Here are some examples of prevention initiatives:

Conducting research on risk factors associated with suicide in order to inform suicide prevention initiatives;

Training counselors to be multiculturally competent so as to reduce incidences of racial microaggressions in cross-racial counseling relationships;

Advocating for changes in policies and laws that will reduce incidences of domestic violence.

History of the Prevention Section:The section’s origins began around 1990 with the formation of the Prevention and Public Interest special interest group. The prevention section was voted into existence by the Division 17 executive council in 2000.

Chairs of the Section:

2000-02 John Romano

2002-04 Michael Waldo

2004-06 Maureen Kenny

2006-08 Andy Horne

2008-10 Jon Schwartz

2010-12 Sally Hage

2012-2014: LeRoy Reese

2014-2016: Dorothy L. Espelage

2016-2018: Dorothy L. Espelage & Erin Ayala

For additional information about this section, please visit the links below or use the left-hand navigation menu options.